1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to RF connectors and particularly to watertight RF coaxial connectors, and includes means for preventing water outside the connectors from entering therein.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The growing popularity of coaxial cable television systems has brought an increased demand for weatherproofed, in-line TV components such as signal amplifiers, splitters and couplers. For optimum performance, it is sometimes desirable to place these components close to an outside receiving antenna, necessitating their location out of doors. For average consumer applications, cost becomes a factor to be considered when designing weatherproofed components such as those mentioned above.
Jack type coaxial cable connectors provided on these components pose a serious waterproofing problem in that they each must have a top opening to allow a center conductor in a mating coaxial plug connector to pass into the jack to engage a split pin therein. These jack connectors may be integrally formed on a component housing which contains electrical devices operative to amplify, distribute or otherwise process the TV signal. Certainly, if a coaxial plug connector is not mated to the jack connector body, water may freely pass through the opening and adversely affect the devices inside the housing. Also, the split pin, which is provided immediately below the opening within the jack body, may undergo corrosion. Even when a coaxial cable has a plug connector mated onto the jack body, water flowing downwardly along the cable may pass through the plug connector and enter inside the jack body through the top opening therein.
In order to prevent water or moisture from entering the component housing, it is known to provide an epoxy resin seal at the bottom of the jack body within the housing, thereby preventing water which enters the jack body from passing on into the housing. However, water still accumulates within the jack body itself and, as a result, deleteriously affects the split pin and insulation material disposed within the jack body.